Rental Property Investor · La Quinta, CA · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 779 votes
I've put the trafficmaster allure vinyl planks in a few homes now - the version with the grip strip edge. We just has a tenant from the first place we did a year ago let us know these floors have warped, bubbled, and gapped. Sent my contractor out, and it's true, warped and bubbled in a few places, and 1/4" gaps in several places.
Anyone else have the same problem? Can someone else recommend a similar low cost product that will hold up better in rentals, that looks like hardwood-ish?
We use Engage Essentials luxury plank. NOT CHEAP but so far, it's been impeccable. We have only used it about 3 years now though so we haven't any serious history. It has an 11 mil wear layer vs. Allure's 4(???). My maintenance man tells me it's infinitely easier to install.
We use Engage Essentials luxury plank. NOT CHEAP but so far, it's been impeccable. We have only used it about 3 years now though so we haven't any serious history. It has an 11 mil wear layer vs. Allure's 4(???). My maintenance man tells me it's infinitely easier to install.
We have used the Traffic Master Allure flooring in 2 of our houses and so far so good. The first house is coming up on a year and the second has only been about 6 months though. The only problem we had was that the installer did not clean the floors as well as he should have in one of the installs and there were some spots where you could see debris was under the flooring. That was fixed though.
I will say that once the floor was down, and we found the raised spots from the debris that didn't get cleaned properly, I noticed that repairing the floor is much more of a pain than I expected it to be. The "grip strips" tear when pulling up existing flooring which made the repair a challenge to say the least. Fortunately the repair was at the installers expense. We have not decided whether or not to keep using the flooring yet though. We hope to have a few more years of experience with it before we have to decide whether to use it in more houses or not.
The flooring has a 25 year warranty so if you are having problems then contact the manufacturer and speak with them about it. Traffic Master has been around for a long time and I am sure that they would be willing to honor the warranty. If they give you problems then be sure to let them know you have access to thousands of other investors through BP and that you are more than happy to let them all know about your experience with their product.
Your problem is the installation. The gaps and warping are likely caused by not following the installation instructions. The product must be placed in the room for several days while maintaining temperature within a specific range both before and after installation. A sudden drop in temp causes the flooring to shrink creating gaps. Inversely, a rise in temp causes expansion and product warping. The warping or buckling could also be caused by not maintaining the proper expansion gap along the perimeter walls.
I would recommend using a more stable product which is probably a bit more expensive.
The grip strip is more difficult to install than the click type. Sounds like an installation problem. Absolutely must bring the planks to room temp before install. We have the grip strip type TrafficMaster Allure in a bathroom, holding up well for several years now. We used the TrafficMaster Allure Ultra in some kitchens and entryways.... also holding up well. The Ultra costs more, but is thicker.... lifetime warranty for home use and 10 year warranty for commercial use. I would contact the store or manufacturer and see if it falls under warranty. Even if the install was done incorrectly, they may still help you out with a customer service approach. Good luck!
We acclimated the flooring, but I suspect the existing tenant may keep the house at some very different temps (when she travels I suspect it's quite cool in the winter just warm enough to keep pipes form freezing, and very hot in the summer). Not sure if that caused the problem.
My guys say the grip strip goes down much faster then the allure click-lock flooring and they prefer it for installation, they said they were "chasing gaps around" installing the click-lock and the lips on the click lock were super brittle. Wish I had been there to supervise that one.
@Clark Winkler makes a good point about installation. It's pretty crucial to have the temperatures dialed.
In the building I'm working at, they're installing a brand called evolve. It's very durable vinyl plank flooring, I swear there's rubber in there as well. Anyways, it's being put in 193 units so it's got to hold up.
I have put that down in a few houses a couple of years ago and have not had any problems reported. I installed it myself and am somewhat of a perfectionist on reading the instructions AND following them, every detail.
I am fixing to put it in 2 more houses, but after your comments, I will go check out the other installs to see how they have held up.
In reading the packaging further, they states it should only be in houses that maintain temperature of 65-85 degrees. My tenants keep their places just above freezing when they are travelling, and it's probably 100 degrees in the summer when they are not home running the AC.....
I'm looking for a new product. I might just spend the extra buck per SF and move to an engineered hardwood product, now that I can't find the $.99 alure any more, the difference isn't as big.
This flooring is all about the way it is installed. If it's installed wrong it can be a nightmare to deal with. If installed properly I find it to be durable.
I am a professional floor installer and have installed traffic master allure flooring before and many other brands as well. I can tell you that it does sounds like an installation issue. The installer may not have left enough room for expansion gaps. My recommendation is to get the click together over the gripstrip system. The gripstrip system tends to pull apart over time. They do make sheet vinyl that looks like wood and if you go to a flooring store usually they will have a much larger selection and can even save you money with different types of installation like going over exsisting floors with a floating vinyl sheet install.
We have some trafficmaster in our house and really like it. But I can attest to what the others are saying... that 99% of the issues out there are likely installation issues.
I don't think we can expect at this price point the flooring to be like the vinyl you walk on in large department stores like walmart (those are commercial products)... but for the price, as long as you realize that there is a give and take, you'll be fine.
The Allure Ultra is thicker and a great upgrade to the normal grip strip product. It costs a bit more but worth looking at it especially for areas with higher foot traffic.
Great products! Just have to get the installation right. Acclimate the flooring in the room for a couple days, clean the floor well, don't put it right on concrete, don't do anything the manufacturer says will void the warranty (like adding on any additional adhesive agent), don't install in areas that fluctuate in temperature a good amount throughout the year, etc.
A client wants me to install this product in a bathroom. I have installed floating click type flooring from various manufacturers with success before, but I have a question for installers of these vinyl glue strip products. This is from the official Allure installation instructions:
"Do not install permanent cabinets, vanities, etc. over allure as this will prevent allure from expanding and contracting."
It would seem to me a toilet would qualify as a permanent cabinet, also not a lot of clients are going to want a molding up against their tub. What do you do in these situations- ignore manufacturers' guidelines? I'm more inclined to steer a client away from these products despite the seemingly fast and ultra easy installation. I'm just not sure flooring requiring expansion spacing is a good fit for most bathrooms.
I would shy away using this from bathrooms, in particular small square footage / high potential humidity bathrooms. This product won't fare well if a bathroom oscillates from 10% to 80% humidity, and is constricted from expanding/contracting by the toilet and cabs.
I'd like to install the standard Allure luxury vinyl planking (with an adhesive grip on two ends) in an upstairs unit of a fourplex in which I took out carpet. I'm concerned about noise issues travelling to the downstairs unit and am investigating putting a roll of cork over the MDF boards that are on the floor. (Haven't been able to figure out a good way of using the GreenGlue for flooring which is supposed to be good between sheetrock layers in walls.) Should I put cork under cement board for installing this product, or should the cork go over the cement board, do you think? My husband went out and found the warranty info on the Allure and apparently putting an underlayment under the product voids the warranty?! My bigger concern (over the 5-year warranty in a commercial setting) is a good installation and I'm considering taking this product back to the store before I even install it and finding another product for this LivingRoom-Kitchen-Bath project. Also, after reading this discussion, I'm wondering if we should put the toilet down first and then caulk around the bottom of the toilet in the bathroom, instead of putting the vinyl under the toilet and not installing under the frig and stove in the kitchen, since it's supposed to be free-floating. Is the Allure Ultra product click-lock and therefore better? Do ya'll have flooring installation ideas, tips, warnings, or advice for me here?
I've used the Trafficmaster Allure Vinyl Plank Flooring in three apartments so far and no problems. It will scratch if you push a refrigerator across it (ask me how I know this), but the scratch is not deep or very obvious. Otherwise, its very durable. All of the tenants say that they like it and prefer it over carpet as it is easy to clean with a Swiffer, no vacuum required.
Many of the posts above hit on some key points. From my experience and in summary:
1- Floor must be clean and flat. Fill gaps, cracks or holes and flatten out any bumps, they will show thru. It can be installed on cement or wood.
2- Roll the seams of the floor as the instructions direct. No one mentioned this yet and I'd bet that many have not rolled the seams. Even though this grip strip is impossible to get apart, they need to be pressed together so that they do not develop gaps in a year or two.
3- Don't glue it or put a screw thru it. I believe the toilet sitting on top of it is ok as it can still move under it if needed.
4- A nice clean caulk line at the edge of the tub will work fine and look just fine.
5- I have not had to repair any sections yet, but am anticipating it to be a nightmare...
I hope this helps. I think we are all in search of the ever elusive, indestructible, easy to install, super low cost flooring.
You need to require your tenant not let the temp to go below 63 and above 85. This is the reason for your flooring issues and to be honest you will have other problems that arise from such big temperature swings.
I would have a talk w them. Explaining how bad it is to let a house get that cold. Explain the damages that can and will result and that he/she would be responsible to pay for any damages.
Most likely probably doing it to save money in heating costs.
That sounds frustrating! I haven't had that specific issue, but I understand the importance of finding a durable, low-cost flooring option for rentals.
I had a similar concern when renovating my properties. I found great success using this comparison site to find affordable flooring installation. It really helped me make informed decisions and stay within budget.